Man Dies From Dental Infection

By now, you've probably heard about the young man who died recently, from a dental infection.

A 24-year-old Cincinnati father died from a tooth infection this week because he couldn't afford his medication, offering a sobering reminder of the importance of oral health and the number of people without access to dental or health care.

I figured the usual chorus of "See? This proves we need universal healthcare!" would start forming, and sure enough, the blogosphere is resounding with the charges of heartless conservatives and "See? I told you so!"

A couple things have struck me about this. As I commented in another place,

It was tragic and unnecessary, given the remedies available to him, but look too, at the choice that he made.

"When his face started swelling and his head began to ache, Willis went to the emergency room, where he received prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medications. Willis couldn't afford both, so he chose the pain medications."

Had he chosen the antibiotics, the pain would have probably subsided in 24 hours. He chose to treat the symptom rather than the cause. Pain is nature's way of telling you you need to do something right away. Pull your hand OFF the woodstove. Take the nail out of your shoe. Being 24, he probably figured he was "10 feet tall and bulletproof", so he took the painkillers, which in turn, caused him to ignore how serious it was that his body was screaming at him to do something.

When in doubt, cure the cause, not the symptom.

Do you remember Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets? Not exactly homeless or destitute, Jim Henson died from pneumonia and a strep infection. Both easily treated, if you catch them in time. Hell, he probably had good health insurance, too. But neither he or the doctors he saw, saw anything past "flu like symptoms" until it was too late.

I have said, half jokingly that there are only three reasons a guy ever goes to the hospital:

One, is uncontrollable bleeding. Two, is bones protruding through the skin (may be accompanied by #1). Three, is failure to regain consciousness, although technically, this is a reason your buddies would take you to the hospital, so there are really only two.

That this man in Cincinnati died, is tragic. It's tragic that he was unemployed. It was tragic the he was uninsured and it's tragic that he failed to make the choices that would have saved his life. But to say that his death was the result of not having insurance is a stretch. If he didn't have twenty seven bucks for the medicine, would he have had twenty seven bucks for the co-pay? Or might he have deferred that medicine purchase for the exact same reason? We'll never know.

Life is about choices. We can't always see their consequences. He almost certain didn't see his. This was sad, but hardly the cause for a cause célèbre.